Guaranteed Australian CX with offshore operations: Same job BUT NOT the same cost

A customer in Australia wants to be heard, and they want their companies to provide instant solutions. Companies that offer great customer experiences (CX), from language to issue resolution, are the ones that garner the trust and loyalty of their customer base. Australian companies are known to focus their attention on meeting the various CX demands. Still, the recent changes in laws and growing concern of the larger population are leading to higher costs, necessitating the need to shift business processes offshore or nearshore.

The onshore reality: High costs undermine scalable solutions

Let’s explore some of the reasons why onshore is becoming a non-viable option for brands and enterprises determined to deliver superior CX.

Location of the services: The location of CX operations can dramatically influence the incurred costs. A telling example comes from the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), which contracts out some of its business processes to private firms within the country. Executives at business process companies perform identical duties and use the same systems as ATO’s in-house staff. Yet, the pay gap is massive, often higher than tens of thousands of dollars per year.

In fact, public-sector customer service employees average approximately A$70,500 in salary, while third-party staff performing the same job earn around A$53,200 on average. This “same job, different cost” disparity is emblematic of a broader challenge in scaling high-quality CX in Australia’s onshore environment.

Differential labour costs: Many organisations have been relying on onshore business process centres while paying them less than their own employees. It has led to a public outcry. Labour reforms, such as the “same job, same pay” principle, aim to close this gap, which could lead to significant wage increases for contractors.

In this context, running a business process centre onshore in Australia is set to become an expensive proposition. Wage inflation and new regulations will wreak havoc on models that are there for organisations to save costs without compromising the quality.

Shrinking talent pool: The availability of talent is another growing concern. Fewer Australians are entering the business process workforce, and most applicants do not speak English as a first language. According to TP’s Australia leadership, barely half of candidates for local customer service roles are native-born English-first speakers, with the share of non-native applicants creeping toward 40-45%.

This shrinking pool of readily qualified, accent-neutral talent means companies struggle to staff up without compromising service quality. High agent turnover is also prevalent; lower-paid call centre jobs experience frequent turnover, which erodes institutional knowledge and compromises consistent service delivery.

TP’s talent tales: Australians in Bali – same job, different cost

TP, one of the world’s largest CX outsourcers, has deliberately steered away from expanding onshore in Australia and instead invested in a “nearshore” solution. In 2024, TP launched a new hub in Bali (Indonesia) dedicated to serving Australian and New Zealand clients.

The strategy is simple: base the operation offshore in a lower-cost locale, but staff it with Australians (and other native-level English speakers) so that customers still get an authentic experience. At TP’s Bali centre, many agents are young Australian “digital nomads” enjoying a stint abroad, and the company even provides two-year visas and flights to attract Aussie talent.

These employees are “definitive Australians” in accent and culture. Still, their compensation is aligned with Bali’s cost of living, meaning the same job is delivered at a significantly lower cost base. With this strategy, TP can offer 30%+ cost savings compared to running the equivalent operation on Australian soil (even after factoring in incentives for expatriate staff). In short, TP has found a way to “park” talent offshore and provide a guaranteed Australian CX.

Also read: How TP Bali supports sustainable, seasonal growth for ANZ businesses

Customers are loving it: Better responsiveness, higher empathy, consistent brand voice

TP’s Bali hub has 500 “customer experts” serving Australia/New Zealand. Local staff are rigorously trained to meet Australian clients’ needs and match the local CX style. This approach not only bypasses the pain points of the onshore market but also delivers tangible CX improvements with:

• Better responsiveness: With a lower cost base, providers can staff more generously and cover extended hours, improving service levels.
• Higher empathy: Agents who share the customer’s cultural background can often empathise more readily and build rapport. An Aussie voice on the line inherently carries a familiarity that puts callers at ease.
• Consistent brand voice: Using Australian agents offshore ensures a consistent brand voice is maintained, as if the support team were sitting in Sydney or Melbourne.

Also read: Closer than you think: Why we are building CX teams in Bali that feel Australian

Conclusion

For Australian enterprises, the message is clear: you can have your cake and eat it too when it comes to CX delivery. The old choice was a tough one, but models like TP’s guarantee superior CX operations at a fraction of the onshore costs. This approach also has the potential to future-proof operations against any regulatory changes made in Australia.